Rocks in Sand
by Lady Pax
Summary: AU: Zechs is a single father with 2 separate aged daughters. His hopes of finding another soul mate are fading, until a certain person comes into his life... And there's still the problem of Duo wanting to kill Zechs's daughter. YAOI. 6+13 *ch.5!*
1. part l one

Rocks in Sand

© Lady Pax

A/N- AHHHHH!! I've missed you, my readers!!!!!! WAHH!!!  Okay, first off…I broke a bone, and cracked another, so there's why I haven't been writing…. And for this fic… It's for a friend… Laurie, actually. She loves Zechs – as do I…and she and I love alternative YAOI pairings… So yeah, this is what became of our obsessions… Heh. Don't flame because this is a YAOI fic!! Flame for any other reason than that! So yeah, Anywho…

Note: I just needed to say this: did you realize that Zechs' number is 6, and Noin's number is 9, and together their 69… And 69 is a crude way of saying a way to have sex? And Zechs sounds like sex and Noin sounds like groin!? SORRY!!!!! That just popped into my head, and Laurie (who is spending the night right now) said I shut put it up… Heh. DON'T KILL ME!! *cowers*

Summary: AU!: Zechs is a single, 25-year-old with two daughters of different ages. He thinks all his hopes of finding someone is gone, until a certain person comes into his life… YAOI. 6+13 / 6x13  My first AU – but don't be gentle! Anyway, onto the real fic!

!+!+!

part | one

It was a dark and stormy night. The trees thrashed together in a wild frenzy, and dark clouds scuttled along the bleak sky – showering the earth with a downpour of rain. The water droplets themselves were almost barking and meowing in their horrible revelry! And it was for the wild happenings outside that made Shae Merquise crawl from her room and into her father's.

Said man was lying in his bed for some late night reading of the novel titled "A Civil Action" by Jonathan Harr (real book!). The lamp on his beside table illuminated the words on the pages perfectly, especially needed on a night like this they usually had during the rainy season, though he still needed his silver reading glasses. 

Shae stood in his doorway, looking at the man that was her father, and she whimpered. It was not a rule Zechs had made that she was to ask for permission before entering a room, but a regulation her other father – Heero was his name, though the children had their last name legally being Merquise – had made. He had left them a year ago, when she was four, and she had not gotten the whim that she wasn't supposed to do it anymore. Zechs didn't protest, although; it was sometimes a good thing. But he had always thought that his child would learn he needed privacy when she grew older, like most children did…especially when she would be the only woman in the house, and when she was a teenager. But Heero, oh Heero…he was different that most parents. Strict and harsh when the rules were bent to an extent, but still the most loving parent a child could as for…

Zechs turned at the small noise of fright, and he smiled sympathetically towards his youngest daughter. 

"Daddy…" she whimpered again, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Come see me, Shae," he said softly, smiling slightly. Shae ran towards the bed, jumped on it, and crawled into his arms. She buried her head in his chest, in his gray cotton t-shirt he wore, and he wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace. "Shh…" he said. "It's okay. Calm down, Shae… It's okay now. Daddy's here…daddy's here…" With his free hand, he closed his book and took of his glasses, then put them on the beside table. 

"Do you want to spend the night here? In Daddy's big bed?" he asked, looking directly in her enormous, star-blue eyes. 

Inside, he winced as he looked at her. She was definitely Heero's daughter. They shared the same attributes… The only thing Heero hadn't claimed of their daughter was her eyes…Zechs had taken that. But it still pained him to look at her, and see Heero's face staring back at him… And with his other daughter Riana – who was fifteen – it was exactly the opposite. She looked more like Zechs than Heero, and seemed to share nothing of her other father, except for the same, slender structure as he. But even then, her build could still relate to Zechs', seeing as he wasn't the most pudgiest man alive. Actually, far from it… 

Shae nodded at his words, and Zechs smiled at her. "Okay, well, I'm going to sleep now, do you want to go to sleep?" he asked. Shae shook her head.

"No," she said defiantly, yet quietly.

Zechs laughed. "But we have to get up early so we can catch the plane to visit Aunt Relena in Europe..! And go see Riana at school!" he said softly, his long fingers reaching down to tickle her softly on her sides. She giggled.

"Bu-but I…" she said between giggles, "I'm not *giggle* tired!"

"Oh yes you are, oh yes you are!" Zechs said, grinning broadly as he tickled her and as she squirmed beneath him. He finished tickling her, and she smiled sleepily. "Tired now?" he asked. She nodded, and dozed off before he could say anymore…

!+!+!

"Shae," Zechs whispered. "Shae, wake up." He shook her awake gently, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Daddy…" she murmured, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Is it time to go, already?"

Zechs smiled slightly, and nodded. "Yes, so go get dressed. I'll meet you in the kitchen, and then we can leave for the airport, okay, little girl?" Shae nodded, and scampered off, while Zechs dressed from his pajamas to slender jeans, a white button-down shirt, and brown shoes. He walked out of the master bedroom and made himself a cup of coffee, along with four pieces of toast in the toaster oven, then seated himself at the kitchen table and looking out the window. It had stopped raining, just a few minutes ago as it seemed, seeing as the leaves of the trees he could see were dripping with rain – as were the blades of grass.

He heard the distinctive _bump, bump_ of Shae bouncing happily down the stairs, and he smiled at her, yet with a sigh. "Shae," he said quietly, "my little girl, go change into something other than your polka-dot shirt, plaid pants, and sandals."

"But I like these clothes, Daddy!" she said, bouncing on her toes eagerly. Zechs strode over to her, picked her up, and led her back up to her room. He picked out a dress, and gave it to her.

"How about this?" he asked. From downstairs, he heard the toast pop out. 

"No!" she said quickly. "I don't like dresses!" She stuck her tongue out, and closed her eyes in a disgusted look. Zechs laughed. He pulled out jeans, and a purple sweatshirt with butterflies on it. 

"What about this?" he asked. She nodded, took them, and began dressing. "Good," he said. "Hurry, and come downstairs to eat – then we'll leave."

Soon, Shae came down, and Zechs set the plate of two pieces of toast with butter on them before her – which she ate with the daintiness of a queen, but with the quickness of a starving child. They finished their short breakfast, and then they were off for Europe – after catching the plane of course!

!+!+!  

A/N- Well, that was crappy… This was my first AU, though! Flame if you want… No Yaoi parts yet… So everyone should be happy right now. Not like the yaoi/shounen-ai is going to be explicit anyway… I'd rather not get my account booted because of FF.net, thank you very much! Anyway, feedback is GREATLY appreciated!! And the next chapter will only be written, or posted rather, if I get at least THREE( 3 / tres ) chapters!! ^o^

Peace – I'm out!!


	2. part l two

Rocks in Sand

© Lady Pax

A/N- Second chapter, UP! ^_^ Thank you, wonderful reviewers:

(C. L) – You want to read the rest? KEEP REVIEWING!!

(Shibby Raquel) – I continue! I continue! Aye, aye!

(Duop) (brother Tony, who told me his review on the phone) – Don't call me sissy-poo. Thanks for your review. I ...think... ^_^

( ) (e-mail didn't give the name... sorry if you do have one – I mean, I know you have one but...aw, never mind!) – aww, thanks for the review! Hehe... ZECHS IS MY FAVORITE TOO!!! Fwee! *xoxo @ Zechs*

**If you guys like this fic, or broken family fics, you will DEFINITELY love my other broken-family fic "The Story of a Family". Non-yaoi (made when I was a scared, homophobic little girl). Duo abandons his daughter, but she finds him – and she's been abused. Read – after you review Part Two, of course! ^_~**

And say, does anybody here watch Weiss Kreuz, or know most about it? I want to get the VHSes, or DVDs, but they don't sell them in the U.S. yet (only fan-subs, which I am a little too paranoid to get), so I was just planning on reading up on it, and reading info about it from numerous sites – so I can write fics about it, and understand the storyline and everything... Sounds like a stupid idea, and you don't want to do it – even if you know good info sites? Well listen to this:

If you like my Gundam Wing fics, let me tell you... I've never seen the Gundam Wing series. Just Endless Waltz – and even then, that was dubbed crappily, and some images were messed. Then how do I know so much – more than people that have seen the series, even? 

Because there are some pretty darn good websites out there, with plenty of info – and a few scripts. And sound wavs, and mp3s to let me listen to a few episodes. 

So yeah... Anyway – send in Weiss Kreuz info sites, PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, but Shae (Yuy-)Merquise, and Riana (Yuy-)Merquise are original characters, and they are copyrighted (©) to me! So no using them without telling me or asking for permission first! I'll say yes, even if they're murdered or tortured! I JUST WANT TO KNOW! Yeah... anyway...

!+!+!

part | two

Location: Fredworth International Commuter Airport in Paris, New France

The thin, ivory-blonde haired young woman stepped out of the terminal, and into the large lobby of people waiting to get on the plane she had just stepped off of. She wore a simple outfit of slender-fitting jeans that belled out at the feet; a blue, button down, long-sleeved shirt that was un-tucked; and black and white sneakers; and her hair was in a ponytail that reached the eye of her back – one could see when the light shone on her beautiful locks that she had put some sort of dye in it, so her hair shone an icy-blue. Her striking, silver-blue eyes scanned the area, looking for a man of similar attributes.

He wasn't there, and neither was the younger child he was supposed to be carrying – a child with chocolate brown hair, and a laughing face. Two people closest to her she hadn't seen in over a year.

So where were they, if they weren't waiting for her at the airport?

Riana wasn't scared, nor anxious. It was probably the jet-lag that prevented it. But then all her senses came on end when she heard a familiar voice. A voice that made her spirits rise, then plummet when memories-turned-instincts automatically told her to keep her guard up – and the hostility of a fierce teenager. 

"It's been a while, Riana."

She turned, slowly, and she shifted her backpack and laptop case so they were on one shoulder. "Hello, Father," she said quietly – a hint of daughterly-love in her voice, but also a bit of hostility. Her eyes wandered to the man that was next to Heero. Her eye twitched slightly. "...Duo," she said, continuing the greetings. But the last statement she might as well have growled for what it sounded like. The word was full of malice, and she spoke it as if it pained her to say it.

Duo grinned – the boyish grin he had attained from somewhere long ago, and still kept – but the shadow of his somewhat-daughter never loving him flickered in his eyes. "Hey, how's it goin', Ri? Everything good? How was the plane ride?"

"Everything's fine, _Father," she growled, staring at Heero. "My name is RIANA. And the plane ride was as good as they come. This is New-France, after all. They have one of the best commuter airports in the ESUN." She looked around again. "Speaking of which, where's my dad?" _

"He—" Duo began, but Heero cut him off.

"He got stuck in traffic. He called Relena to contact someone to get you – seeing as he wasn't able to, and she's busy. She called me, and since Duo and I were going to be passing by here while going to Relena's manor anyway, we decided to pick you up. Hope you don't mind."

"I was hoping to see, them first, seeing as they are my immediate family," she said, "but I suppose if this was the only way to get me to see them, I won't complain, Father. So let's go. Please."

Heero nodded, and the trio began walking down the hallway to the exit. "Do you have any luggage?" Heero asked her, looking over his shoulder at her.

"No. My things that I needed were already sent to Aunt Relena's manor," Riana replied, and she glared at the back of Duo's head as she saw him put take her 'former-father''s hand in his, and Heero squeeze back. She lowered her eyes when she saw Heero look at her disapprovingly, though she didn't know how he could still control her like that, and walked silently the rest of the way until they got to Heero and Duo's dark green Honda Accord – where a surprise waited for her as it was leaning against the hood.

"Noin!" she exclaimed, dropping her backpack and laptop case quickly yet carefully and hugged the dark-haired woman. "Did you bring Sally or Lady Une with you?"

Noin laughed. "Une was busy, I'm afraid," she said, and Riana sighed.

"That's too bad. But she does have a lot of work at the station, I suppose."

"Yes, but Sally wouldn't let me leave without her...." As if on cue, a woman came from the inside of the car, holding a cell phone to her ear and listening to a voice that sounded amazingly like Lady "Anne" Une's. Riana smiled, and hugged the woman as well.

Sally laughed, and patted her back. The two parted, and Noin joined her, putting an arm around her koi's waist. Riana smiled at them. It had taken some getting used to when Sally and Noin had announced they were an item, but now, people could hardly remember ever seeing them apart – and out of an affectionate range. Noin whispered something in, and Sally nodded.

The blonde-haired woman stepped up, and held the cell-phone out to Riana. "It's Anne," she said. "She wants to speak to you." Riana nodded.

"Hello? Ms. Riana Yu—Ah, Merquise, speaking," she said, stumbling over her last name; Heero frowned. She had been given two last names at one point – a short one. Her full name had once been Riana Hikari Yuy-Merquise. But since her father and Heero had separated, the Yuy- had been taking out. She still had a few problems remembering that. Heero was disappointed for a reason acceptable. He love his daughters – and he still loved Zechs... But Duo seemed to be a bigger part of his life than the ivory-haired man. Not more than his daughters though. They meant the world to him... But too bad the same couldn't be said about they and him...

Riana could hear Une sigh in sympathy, but then her mood change. "I'm glad to see you're alive, Riana," she said.

"Why is that?" Riana asked.

She could hear another voice join Une's, though soft. He was speaking at Une – not to Riana, she soon realized when she heard them talk about getting files 285 filled out and sent to L3's representative...

"Lady Une? Are you busy?" Riana asked.

"Uh, sorry, Riana, I'm going to have to let you go... Duty calls."

Riana nodded, though the woman on the other line couldn't see the motion. "That's fine. I'll talk to you later. Umm...will you be at Aunt Relena's manor here in Paris?"

Lady Une spoke to her employee, then answered, "Yes, I will. But in about three days – so I won't be there when you arrive. I'll talk to you later, Riana. Goodbye."

"Bye." Riana was about to hang up as she eased herself into the backseat of Noin and Sally's convertible, when Lady Une stopped her.

"Oh yes, and Riana?"

"Yes?"

"Don't give Heero and Duo a hard time...they both love you." Zechs' oldest daughter went ridged. She hated it when people talked about Heero and Duo. She knew enough about them as she needed.

"Could've fooled me," she said coldly and hung up and the woman before she could say any more. The adults looked at her.

"Everything okay, Riana?" Sally asked as she and Noin opened the car door for her. She nodded, and entered. She buckled her safety belt, and looked at the concrete beam that was right out the car window. "You sure?" Riana nodded again.

She looked at the mirror above the dash, and her throat tightened. She saw Heero and Duo share a quick kiss, which burned her enough, but when Duo's hand lingered a bit lower than Heero's waist, her already frosty eyes became colder. Her expression hardened, and she glared at the two men when they entered. She had distinctively seen Heero catch Duo's wrist, and say the words "tonight".

"I have my own room, right?" she asked when the car began moving – partly to break the silence, and to burn the two men...

"Yes, of course," said Noin, looking at her with an arched eyebrow. "Why do you ask, Riana?"

"I'd like the opportunity to shut the door and muffle out the sounds of two certain people making out," she says. "I already know that they can make a terrible noise when they do." A smirk lifted the corner of her lips as Heero and Duo froze, and looked at each other, then her in awe and disbelief. iHild

"I certainly hope one of the man's braid is okay, especially when his lover almost pulled it off its roots when they were at it – or so the screams say."

Noin and Sally's eyebrows arched, and their gazes turned to the two men in the front seats. Heero had turned back to the road, his knuckles white from grasping the steering wheel so tightly, and Duo was looking at his hands – a blush staining his cheeks. Sally and Noin's expressions turned from surprise to scolding, but Riana pretended not to notice and said, "But at least I have a private room to myself this time." She made a small giggling noise in her throat.

!+!+!

A/N- Well, that was interesting, ne? Hee! *g*

But I don't really like making poor Hee-chan and Du-kun the bad guys... *sniff* Oh well – all's fair in a story of love and war... ^_~

**Review! Then read "The Story of a Family" by MEEEEEE!!!LADY PAX!!! ^_^**

**Please? *puppy dog eyes***


	3. part l three

Rocks in Sand

© Lady Pax

I'm bored, so I'm writing this next chapter the same day as part two... WHOO HOO!!!!! Yeah...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. But Shae and Riana are original characters, and they are copyrighted (©) to me! Use them only with permission or with statement to me, first, please! AND DON'T SUE!

!+!+!

part | three

Riana was glad to get out of the car. She had talked to Noin and Sally most of the time, but the look Heero and Duo were giving her almost made her regret saying that she had heard them make love before – making fun of them, also. 

Almost.

She didn't approve of it, but she reluctantly allowed a servant of Relena's who had seen the car take her bags, and she bounded up the stairs and sidewalk winding up to Relena's abode. It was too large to be a house, and too small to be a mansion – so it had been dubbed Peacecraft Manor. She loved the house. Rose bushes lined the walkway and stairs, and yards of green grass rolled out in every direction. There were trees here and there; all of them bore flowers, and Riana could see a large apple orchard stretching along the end of the unlimited backyard. It was a large backyard, larger than any, because there was a plain of trees beyond – no houses built yet. Relena had bought all the land, and of course all the children and young people she knew loved playing there. It was beautiful...

Riana saw a red-headed child many years younger than her from an upstairs window. She waved. It was Mariemaia – daughter of Hilde and her late husband (this is an AU, remember). The oldest female Merquise had a thing that attracted children to her – a good thing, seeing as she wanted a family of her own someday.

The servant taking Riana's bag went around back after learning her name, and the five people were left outside Relena's enormous, front French doors.

Riana's hard skipped a beat. This was where her father was, and her little sister... And all the people she had grown up to love. She was suddenly very glad she was taken out of school early to be at the 'family' reunion. She had been wanting to stay at school in America instead of going to France, but now she was glad Zechs had convinced her. She knew she'd enjoy staying there for the month of the reunion – even if she had to share it with Heero and...Duo.

Sally pressed the small button next to the door, and the group outside could hear the chimes that served as a doorbell for Relena. Through the blurred windows, Riana could see a figure walking to the door, then reach and open it. It was Relena, of course.

"Well, look who's here!" Relena said loudly as she embraced her niece. "Riana! So good to see you!" She let go of the girl who was as tall as she herself, and turned to the large entrance-room that branched off in four directions. "Zechs!" she exclaimed. "Zechs! Come here!"

"Be quieter, Relena. You'll wake Shae," Zechs said as he walked into the main entranceway. He paused, staring at Riana in shock. "R-Riana..." he said, struggling to form words. Riana grinned, and ran into his arms. Even though she was tall, her father still towered over her a bit.

Trowa, Quatre, Hilde, Mariemaia, and Wufei walked in, and smiled when they saw Zechs and Riana. Soon, after the father-daughter reunion, more hugs and kisses were exchanged by the others and Riana, which made her glow with the attention. She was cherished, of course she was; but because she was going to boarding school overseas, affection like this was hard to come by...especially at an all girls school when she was not homosexual, but hetero(straight). 

"Where's Shae?" Riana asked her father as the group moved down a hallway to the spacious, and leather-furnished living room. 

"She's upstairs in the room next to yours. Sleeping in Relena's nursery."

"Nursery?" Riana asked, arching an eyebrow and looking at her Aunt. "Why do you have a nursery if you have no kids of your own?"

Relena blushed, and Wufei made a strangled noise, and he accidentally knocked down a few chess pieces that he was playing Trowa with. Quatre was helping Hilde cook in the neighboring kitchen with the servants, and Heero and Duo were sitting at the loveseat that was near the fireplace – far enough that Riana and Zechs and Relena couldn't hear the important conversation they seemed to be having.

Riana tore her eyes from Heero and Duo, and looked at Relena's blushing face – and Wufei. Her eyes were averted to their hands on instinct. Matching gold bands were around their ring fingers. "You two are married?" she asked in surprise.

"We have been," said Relena, looking at Wufei – who pretended to be absorbed in picking up pawns and knights at the moment... "For about a year now.."

Riana's eyebrows furrowed. "I was at school during the wedding? You could have at least told me, I would've sent a gift."

"Oh no, no, no!" Relena exclaimed suddenly, catching people's attention. She blushed again. "Well, you see..."

Zechs finished for her. "What she's trying to say, Riana," he said, "is that Wufei proposed to her in secret, and they told no one. They retired to the tropics for about a month, which got us very worried... And then they came back, told us, and decided to set up this reunion to tell us – and to celebrate their first year reunion. Everyone knew just a few hours before you."

"Oh," said Riana. "So you two are going to have children then?" she asked. She shook her head at the wine a servant offered her.

Relena blushed again, and didn't take any wine, either. "Well, we're....trying," she said quietly. "But we might end up having to adopt." She sighed.

"Ah," said Riana. "But adopting is good," she said. "That way you'll be surprised." She paused, looked at her father and they shared a glance before she continued. "Or you can always use a donated egg and/or ovary – or get a DNA mixing setup."

"What is that?" Relena asked, gaining interest.

"A DNA mixing setup is really only for homosexual couples that are technically unable to have children, but it works both ways. They take a sample of DNA from each parent, make an exact clone of both – but larger in quantity of course – and then they do a series of testing, and voila! A child. And the great thing is, you can personalize your child. You can choose the sex, its weight, anything. But it can alter when it grows. But also... in the DNA mixing, there's a 10% chance the child will die or develop a serious disease." Relena nodded, and made a small noise of interest. Wufei although, seemed as though he were struggling to breath.

Riana continued her explanation. " And using a donated egg or ovary is self explanatory. Basically the man donates sperm, and it is inserted into the egg – a fail and fool-proof plan, unless the man has no sperm." Relena nodded. "But there's a downside..." Riana explained. "The child might inherit some of the traits of the woman who donated the egg or ovaries." She smiled, and leaned back in her chair.

"Or you can just adopt." She shrugged, and the people listening (Quatre and Trowa – who had helped clean the chess pieces, and had joined them; and Wufei, Relena, and Zechs) laughed.

Quatre seemed puzzled. "But what," he said, and blushed, "Excuse me for asking, Zechs..." Said man looked up.

"Yes?"

"Well...how did you and Heero have children?"

Zechs glanced at Riana, who was suddenly very interested in a loose thread on her sleeve. Quatre noticed, and he swallowed. "Ah...I'm sorry, I never should have asked..."

"No, it's...okay," Zechs said slowly. "We were going to do DNA mixing with Riana, but Heero and I changed our minds to the donation setup. The DNA mixing was giving a 50-50 chance to the children they would produce, then."

"I suppose you gave the... necessities?" said Quatre.

Zechs nodded, smiling slightly at Quatre's choice of words. "Yes. It was a hard decision, but it came down to me in the end. And we're lucky Riana didn't inherit the woman's attributes – the one that donated, of course."

"Or maybe Heero didn't want to give the sperm," Riana said quietly, "because he was too weak to understand that – even though he was homosexual – he had to enter a woman's body in order to have me." No one heard her. Or so she thought.

!+!+!

Dun dun!! WHOO HOO! TWO CHAPTERS IN A DAY!!!!!! FWEE!

REVIEW!!!!!


	4. part l four

Rocks in Sand

© Lady Pax

A/N- WOW! I'm on a roll!! ^o^ Fwee! *dances around like an insane chipmunky-thingamajig*  Hehe! Thanks reviewers! *waves* Love you all! *g* So read and review!

A/N- People, please, excuse my French... I translated English words to French on an online translator...so I hope I don't offend anybody if the French is off! Achi! 

Disclaimer: I don't know, what animes I own...the wind has a way, to tell me: "ze-ro"... Flowers speak a stupid disclaimer, I pray to Bandai: stop torturing me... War...mechas, calm me... oo~h Gundam Wing... someone, please...give me... the moon, and all it's colonies... maybe I'll own them someday...  I don't know, what animes I own...the wind has a way, to tell me: "ze-ro"... Flowers speak a stupid disclaimer, I pray to Bandai: stop torturing me...  my parody of disclaimers for the song "Hiru no Tsuki", the first Outlaw Star ending song. ^_^

Shae and Riana belong to me, btw. ^_^

!+!+!

part | four

(this takes place in the time during part three)

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Relena stood up, and rushed to the door. Her voice floated over to the living room.

"Treize! Oh, I'm glad you could make it! Come in, please – come in. Wufei and the others are in the living room."

"Thank, you, mademoiselle," said a smooth voice. Footsteps echoed down the corridors until two people entered the living room, Relena and a tall, strongly built man. His eyes were a piercing frosty-blue, and a small curl of sandy-brown hair fell in front of his eyes. Jeans that fit his legs, and gray turtleneck hid the golden-brown tan he had, making him seem quite out of place (beyond Wufei and Trowa) with the slightly paler faces around him.

Wufei stood when he realized who it was, and he shook hands with the man. "I'm glad you could make it, Treize. I'm sure you remember everyone here."

"Oui," said Treize. [ Yes ] His eyes went over the people, and landed on Zechs and the girl next to him. Hm, who were they?

"Non, en fait, Wufei. The man, and the girl next to him – I don't know them," he said. [ No, actually, Wufei... ]

"Oh. Yes, those are the guests that just arrived today – that you didn't meet. Treize, this is Zechs Merquise. Zechs, this is Treize Khushrenada." Zechs stood, and shook Treize's hand, smiling at him.

"Nice to meet you, eh, Zechs?" He had trouble pronouncing the name.

"Yes, it's Zechs. And likewise, Mr. Khushrenada."

"Ah, no, call me Treize. That is what all my friends call me!" Zechs realized that Treize's accent wasn't totally French – there was hardly a trace of it at all. Maybe he wasn't born in Paris, or anywhere in New France.

Zechs smiled, and nodded.

"And who is this?" Treize asked, looking at Riana who had stood up as well.

"Mon nom est Riana Merquise," said Riana in fluid French. [ My name is Riana Merquise. ] She had been taking a French course since gradeschool now, and had learned the writing and reading already. She could speak it fluently. "C'est un plaisir, je suis sûr." [ It's a pleasure, I'm sure. ] She smiles warmly at him. He seemed nice enough.

"Superbe! Vous parlez très bons français! Mais le plaisir est toute mine, Mademoiselle Riana Merquise. Je suis sûr." [ Excellent! You speak very good French! But the pleasure is all mine, Miss Riana Merquise. ]

Riana smiled, eyes twinkling, and she nodded at him, and stopped shaking his hand. He smiled again, then walked over to the others to talk. The oldest Merquise daughter walked towards Relena, who was speaking to Mariemaia – something about the Merquise baby waking up. She blinked. "Can I see her then?" she asked. "Or is she crying?"

"She's not crying," said Mariemaia. "But I don't want to go back upstairs. Mommy...." She went off to go find Hilde. 

Riana looked at Relena. "Will you show me the nursery? I couldn't find my way out of a closet in your house, Aunt Relena."

"I'll show it to her," said a new voice. The two turned. It was Wufei. 

Relena smiled, and nodded. "Okay. I'll see you two later then." Then she walked off to speak to her guests.

The trek upstairs was silent until they had gotten to the very top. "I take it..." said Wufei slowly as he opened the nursery door open slowly, "that you don't like Duo very much?"

"Define like," she said heatedly before stepping in and looking through the room for a bed or crib that held Shae. Most were empty, except three. One held a baby with black hair – which she knew was Noin and Sally's; another held a baby that was bald now – she didn't know who it belonged to; and the last held Shae – the only one in a bed. "Sweety!" she said softly, reaching down an picking Shae up.

"Sissy!" Shae said in equal excitement and flung her small arms around her neck. "I missed you! When'd you get here?!"

"I missed you too, little one. And we got here a little while ago. Did you have a nice sleep?" Shae nodded her head vigorously.

"The plane was FUN!"

Riana laughed softly. "I'm sure it was. Do you want to go downstairs and see Dad? We'll do something fun later, I promise." Shae nodded, then bounced out of the room and down the stairs where Riana could hear Treize's distinctive voice say something that sounded like "qui est ceci?" [ Who is this? ]

Wufei and Riana were alone in the room. "What did you mean by what you whispered downstairs?" he asked.

She looked at him. "I was whispering lots of stuff to myself. It just depends on what you heard."

"About saying that Heero was weak, by not wanting to give his...sperm...to the egg and ovaries of the woman that donated them."

Riana shrugged. "Isn't it obvious? If my father cared about me, then wouldn't he have put of more of a fight and tried to give his sperm to me? His attributes? The way my father told ME, was that he barely argued about who's traits were going to be mine! Dad said he didn't really want a child when I was born!"

"They were young," Wufei said.

"Not my dad," she said waspishly. "And then, when Shae was going to be born, Heero jumped right at the idea of DNA mixing. I was old enough to understand that it was a dangerous procedure, and I told him the facts that Shae still had a large chance of dying – not matter how little the percents were. He told me he knew, but he wanted a child so badly now."

"Maybe he knew Shae would not die – she's here, you know."

She glared at Wufei. "Shae almost DID die. Dad and I were worried, and stayed in the waiting room all day. But Heero stayed at our house – lying in bed and doing nothing! It was as if he wanted her to die – like he didn't care! If he wanted a child so bad, he could've at least shown some worry! Or he could have been smart and done the egg and ovary donation setup! But no! By then he was already having an affair with that bastard Duo! And he didn't want Duo to take it the wrong way – if he knew he was trying to get a child with my dad!"

Her rant was cut short by a piercing child's wail. She turned, and saw the baby she didn't recognize was crying. Her expression softened, and she picked it up and rocked it back to sleep in her arms – all of it taking a few moments. When she stopped, she looked at the baby's face when she held it, and smiled. "He's beautiful," she said softly.

"I'm surprised you like that baby so much," Wufei said.

"Why is that?" she asked. "He's gorgeous."

Wufei didn't seem to hear her last comment. "It's Heero and Duo's."

Riana's arms gave way, and the baby's head hit the edge of the crib, but she recovered before she could drop him. But she didn't do anything to stop his crying this time. She just stared at the face of the baby, and looked at the thin locks of chestnut hair covering its almost bald head. And the violet-blue eyes that were wide open in pain. It was her former-father's child... Heero's child... Duo's child...

She had another sibling.

A brother that looked like the one person she hated more than anyone in the world...

Duo Maxwell.

As if on cue, said man with a braid, followed by Heero stepped into the room. "We just came to see why Akio was cry—" Duo's voice faltered when he realized who was holding their baby. "What are you doing? Did you hurt him?" Duo asked. He rushed forward, and Riana literally dropped the baby in his arms – making it cry louder. She suddenly felt very cold, and very...sick...

"Hey!" Duo exclaimed. "Riana, you can hurt him! Just because—"

"Duo, be quiet," came the quiet order from Heero. His koi reluctantly followed the order, and sat at the windowsill and calmed Akio down.

Wufei walked out the door, not wanting to get in the mix of things, while Heero walked towards his oldest daughter, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Riana...Riana look at me..." She followed directions, and Heero winced when he saw her eyes were cold...amazingly cold, as if someone had stuck a needle in her eye – and she had not tears to help it.

"How could you?" she said in a cracking voice, interrupting him.

"What?"

"How could you?" she said, louder this time. "How could you do that? Without telling us earlier?" she wrenched out of his grip. "How could you have sex with HIM," she pointed at Duo in a disgusted way, "have a child, and not let us know about it?! Either Dad doesn't know, or you told him not to tell me – either way, I still can't believe you! That child is a BASTARD, Father!" she exclaimed, and Duo yelled out something. Riana didn't listen. "He's an illegal child! You guys aren't even married! The divorce isn't even on paper yet! Don't you KNOW that!?"

"Riana, calm down," Heero said sternly.

"NO! You're not my dad! You can't tell me what to do!" She brushed past him, out the nursery, and the only noise that could be heard was the footsteps going down the stairs, and her voice calling for Zechs. 

!+!+!

A/N- VEEEEEERY interesting... Did you like it? Or did the parts seem a little rushed? It's not the end, I guarantee... ^_^

Review!


	5. part l five

Rocks in Sand

© Lady Pax

A/N- Thank you for the kind reviews!! 

**Azngirl**- thank you! I hope to update them soon, but school, studying/homework, and other works that I really NEED to get done have been consuming my time! Not to mention holidays, and holiday shopping!  **Carole- AHH!! ANOTHER 6x13/13x6 FAN!! WAI!! 3!! Yes yes yes! Follow follow follow!   **Madisonne-** I LOVE YOUR FICS!! WAI!! Zechs/Treize fan, also!! WAI!!! 3 3 3!!**

A/N- Also, I am starting a mailing list. It would really help if you would put your e-mail addresses in your review, so I don't have to go searching for it. You don't have to, but say that you would rather not be on the mailing list (don't have to give a reason; I'll understand) – because if you don't, I'll just think you forgot...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. But Shae and Riana are MY creations! Therefore copyrighted (©) to ME: LADY PAX! SO NO USING WITHOUT STATEMENT OR PERMISSION!! And don't sue! They all came from MY MIND and MY MIND ONLY!! (Yes, contrary to popular belief, I have one... I just tend not to use it...) SO THERE! 

!+!+!

part | five

The adults watched in unison as Riana seemed to stumble down the stairs, and ask Relena where her room was in a rush.

"Riana...Riana calm down," Relena said firmly, holding her niece's elbows. She gasped slightly when she realized how much they were shaking. "Riana...are you okay?"

But before she could respond, Wufei interjected. "Your room is on the third floor – fifth door on the right. Right above the nursery." Riana looked at him, nodded then fled back up the stairs, long ivory hair wafting like a shining wave behind her.

Zechs stood up, and looked at the stairs after her. Before he could begin his trek, though, Wufei stopped him.

"She found Heero and Duo's offspring," he said calmly. Zechs' chest contracted before he strode quickly to the stairs – and was stopped again by Heero, then Duo – a baby in his arms. 

"Zechs—" Heero began, but this time it was Duo who overlapped his voice.

"Merquise! You better have some explanation to why your daughter practically killed our son!" he yelled, deep voice booming through the whole first floor. Zechs' face became tangled in worry for his daughter, and fury for Duo blaming his daughter...his fiancé's daughter, also... He pushed them aside, and ran up the stairs without an answer.

"MERQUISE!" Duo yelled again, handed Heero the child, and ran up after him.

* ~symbolizes a movement of 3rd person limited POVs

Riana heard a loud set of uneven thumps on the stairs, like bongo drums. _Thumpthump, thumpthump, thumpthump..."MAXWELL! OUT OF MY WAY!"_

"YOU GET OUT OF MINE!"

She wiped her eyes, and walked to her door; just as her long fingers were about to enclose on the brass doorknob, it burst open – revealing her father and Duo. She stepped back, scared out of her mind, and put a hand to her heart. "What...What are you two doing!?" she exclaimed, eyes wide in fright.

Zechs stepped towards her, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Riana, I was going to tell you tonight, at dinner – since, your father and Duo were going to be away for the night—"

"WE'RE STAYING NOW! She might try killing Akio again!"

"Shut up, Maxwell!"

"Make me, Merquise!"

Riana – being the only one looking at the door, the other two men either glaring or staring at her – saw several pairs of eyes staring into her room. The others. Coming to see what the commotion was all about – all the yelling. And to make sure the two men hadn't killed each other. Her Aunt Relena stepped up, and put a hand on Zechs' shoulder, while Heero and Akio took Duo away from the room. Something flickered in Riana's eyes, as well as in Zechs', but the young woman looked away and took her shoulders away from her father's grasp.

"At least I figured out for myself," she said softly.

A voice penetrated the silence that followed Riana's words. "Sissy! I found you! And Daddy!" It was Shae. Sweet and innocent little Shae, that would never know the pain Heero and Duo – and Akio – had caused her family. She pushed through the legs of Relena, Trowa, Quatre, Hilde, Sally, Noin, Heero and Duo who stepped away quickly, Wufei, and Treize – all to be picked up in her father's arms and held.

"This conversation never happened, Dad, and everyone else," she said – her eyes wandering from her father to the others, who nodded in understanding – especially Noin and Sally.

"We'll see about that," Duo growled.

"Duo..." said Heero warningly, between clenched teeth.

"What? She practically gave Akio a concussion- this isn't over Merquise!-" the rest of his words were drowned out, leaving Zechs wondering which Merquise he was talking about. 

The others began to filter out, giving small smiles to Riana, telling her they understood - the conversation never happened – leaving only Relena. But she just told them when they were to be downstairs to leave for the restaurant they were eating at (7:00), then left with a quick hug to all of them- taking Shae with her, much to the relief to Zechs and Riana.

"Riana...I was going to tell you today, or either Heero was...you've got to believe that," said Zechs, his star-blue eyes despaired. His daughter nodded.

"I believe you," she said. "But why couldn't they have waited – why couldn't they have had a shred of patience, and waited until the paperwork was done? They're not teenage men anymore – they should have their hormones in control by now!" she cried, her voice and eyes pleading with him to agree – to make everything all right again.

"Riana...I know they should, but it's not our place to interfere. I'm upset too, with Heero more than I am with Duo, but..." His voice trailed off, sentence broken.

Riana wiped her eyes. "I'm not going back to America," she said suddenly.

"What?" asked Zechs, his eyebrows creasing together. "No! You can't, Riana! Your education..."

"I can go back, I can, Dad," said Riana quickly. "Really, I can go back at anytime. I just want to make sure that you and Shae are going to be okay without me, because you're going to have to tell Shae about Akio too, and how what they did was illegal- and she's going to want to talk to me about it, and this will just be so much easier and more convenient for all of us, and—"

"Riana, stop it!" said Zechs, still softly but sternly enough for her to be quiet. "You're staying in school, you've got the brains to graduate in the top two percent of your class at this rate, and you want to drop out right now? You want to go into one of the top colleges, don't you? Well this isn't the way to get at it! No, you're staying; Shae and I will just have to manage. And anyway..." He smiled then, "you're too young to be worrying like you are. You're barely fifteen."

Riana blushed a bit. "I'm a little stressed right now..." she admitted, "what with being away from you two for so long, and all this new stuff popping up everywhere..." She sighed, and looked out the window. "Maybe I'll take Shae and Mariemaia out to the pool. It's a nice day outside."

"She's been begging to go out for a long time, now. You'll be her hero," said Zechs, standing up and heading for the door.

"Well, you'll have to do something to win her back then. You're her daddy after all," Riana said.

!+!+!

That was interesting... And short. Lol. Chapter six coming right up! ^^

© 2003 Lady Pax


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